Review: The Implosion of Aggie Winchester - Lara Zielin

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 3 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (I'm a fairly big fan of this cover.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 4, 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Page Count: 278 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Aggie has a lot on her mind this year. She wants to get back together with her ex, even though he doesn't treat her well. She just found out her best friend is pregnant and her mother has cancer. Now there's this big prom scandal and another boy seems to have eyes for Aggie. She just wants to stay out of the whole mess, but unfortunately with her friend being the center of the scandal and her mom being the principal, Aggie is not only a part of it but has to choose which side she stands on.

This book was a bit meh for me. Aggie was a bit shallow for me. She is so obsessed with her ex and making sure she looks goth enough. It was just a bit boring to read about. I appreciated how opening her mouth always seemed to get her into more trouble, because sometimes things are like that. You try to fix a problem, but just keep making it worse and worse.

I thought there would be more about the pregnancy in this book, and while it was a prom queen issue it wasn't really a teen pregnancy issue. It was certainly interesting.

I liked the secondary characters a lot more than Aggie and Sylvia. Fitz was so endearing and I wished there was more of him in this novel. Fitz seemed like a really caring and understanding person and Aggie seemed shallow and oblivious.

I feel like there was too much drama in this book. I don't think Sylvia needed to be pregnant and Aggie's mom didn't need to have cancer. It would have been pretty much the same book without those two elements. Those things just add to the drama.

It was a decent read, but not something I loved. The secondary characters should have run the show.

First Line:
"I pushed open my car door and stepped straight into a puddle of ice and slush."

Favorite Line:
"I just prayed my parents would be asleep by the time I lifted my window and crawled into the darkness."